Walking with Lions in Victoria Falls & Livingstone
In all my years in Africa, I never expected that I would get the chance to walk with real lions in the bush. At Victoria Falls the Lion Encounter allows you to do just this – as long as you can handle it.
This wildlife adventure is offered both sides of Victoria Falls: in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe; and Livingstone, Zambia. Go to www.safpar.com/lion_encounter for more information.
African Lion Encounters: Get up close and personal with lions in the bush
It can be quite an unnerving experience to set off into the bush with your guide and suddenly be joined by a couple of lions bounding along with you! Our feline walking companions were only 8 months old, but you should have seen the size of their feet!
In an effort to increase Africa’s dwindling lion population, the African Lion & Environmental Research Trust (ALERT) has created a unique programme. Once the lions reach 18 months old, they are transferred to a holding area of a minimum of 500 acres and left to their own devices. They learn how to hunt and are supplied with food “on the hoof”. They are also grouped into prides, so that ultimately they can be released into the wild as a self-sufficient family, able to hunt and fend for themselves.
While in the care of ALERT, these hand reared wild lions give travellers the opportunity to enjoy a mindblowing, unique interaction with them in natural habitat. This remarkable venture enables people like you and me to make physical contact with these fabulous big cats at an early stage in their lives. A truly awesome experience!
On the walk, the lions constantly stop and lie down (cat nap time?), giving you ample opportunity to get up close and personal, stroke them (I even pulled one’s tail – VERY gently!) and the photographic opportunities are amazing. A crew member videotapes the whole experience, which is then edited and formatted as a DVD for purchase to remind you of this encounter for posterity.
The ALERT programme has recently been extended to Livingstone so that, whichever side of Victoria Falls you are staying at, you can enjoy this awesome lion experience for yourself very conveniently. To anyone visiting Victoria Falls I would highly recommend the Lion Encounter. It’s a unique experience that you’ll treasure and remember forever.
Go to www.safpar.com/lion_encounter for more information.
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